My Pet Serial Killer reviewed at HTML Giant

Some people raise cats and dogs. Claire, the protagonist of Michael Seidlinger’s My Pet Serial Killer, raises serial killers. Caged within the pages of the book is the ‘Gentlemen Killer,’ his gallery of helpless women, and a whole panoply of cultural idiosyncrasies that seem strangely alien when viewed through the cool detachment of Claire. Claire is an experienced collector who dissects social rituals with the vivifying apathy of a biologist. I’ve read a lot of serial killer books in the past two years, most trying to differentiate themselves by latching onto a more unusual gimmick. My Pet Serial Killer distinguishes itself with a unique foray into the world of mass murderers that’s best encapsulated by Claire’s proposition to the Gentlemen Killer: “I support you financially. I give you a place to hide. I make sure you are never under suspicion of being what you really are, a cold-blooded psychotic killer (so hot), and, in return, you clue me into your process. You become mine.”

Oh and here’s a random photo of a serial killer doing what serial killers do:

No, I take it back. Dexter is some kind of bullshit but it’s definitely not what serial killers do. I thought about putting up real photos of serial killer victims but, at the last minute, thought against it. Not everyone skimming this post will take kindly to some of those photos. Some of you might even like Dexter (really? What about it do you like? Do you think it’s “clever?”).

Anyway, yeah, it’s a great review. Thanks Peter for reading and really cutting into the corpse of the novel.